Movie Theater Insurance
(Protecting your business has never been easier)
Written by
Ann Herro has been writing about insurance and employee benefits for over 15 years. She has covered topics as easy as insuring a car, and as difficult as transparency in healthcare costs.
Reviewed by
Paul Martin is the Director of Education and Development for Myron Steves, one of the largest, most respected insurance wholesalers in the southern U.S.
It’s not only filling the seats and popping the popcorn that movie theater owners have to worry about. While your customers kick back and enjoy the newest flicks, your livelihood is fraught with serious risks that could cost you a ton and even put you out of business.
With the right movie theater insurance, you can put your mind at ease and focus on what’s important. Your business insurance can help you recover from simple claims for slips and falls, and from complete devastation caused by fire or severe weather.
Whether you own a classic single-screen cinema or a chain of movie theaters, an independent agent can help you find tailored coverage that protects your assets.
Why Do I Need Movie Theater Insurance?
It’s simple: movie theater insurance helps you avoid financial ruin from unexpected events. Consider all of the things that could go wrong (and result in serious repair costs, loss of income, or a lawsuit) on a single Saturday night:
- Customer trips and falls in a dimly lit theater, breaking an ankle
- Customer gets food poisoning
- Rowdy teenagers cause thousands of dollars in damage to a restroom
- Expensive displays are stolen or damaged
- Fire or severe weather damages your theater building
- A projector breaks down causing a screen to be inoperable
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What Does Movie Theater Insurance Cover?
Movie theater insurance should cover the unique risks you face in the theater business. This includes physical damage to your building or property, as well as your responsibility to financially compensate any customers or members of the public who get injured on your property.
With a few commercial insurance policies tailored to your needs, you can get the peace of mind you need to focus on the important stuff—like selling more tickets and keeping the popcorn fresh.
Working closely with an independent insurance agent, you can determine exactly what risks you have and find tailored insurance policies to address them. You may need:
- Commercial property coverage: This covers buildings and their contents, such as computers and cash registers, projectors and screens, theater seating, and any other business property inside your theater or offices. Be sure to talk to your agent about special coverage for unique property concerns such as leased and consigned films.
- Business interruption coverage: This compensates for lost business income and pays for operating expenses if you must temporarily close following a covered loss (e.g., a fire damages two of six screens, and you must close entirely during the rebuilding process).
- Commercial general liability coverage: This pays for claims of bodily injury and property damage to third parties due to your negligence (e.g., a customer trips on rug in a dimly lit theater, breaking an ankle).
If you operate a small to midsize movie theater company, you may be able to bundle your basic property and liability coverage together into a packaged policy (business owners policy, or BOP) designed for small business owners.
You might also want to consider endorsements to your basic movie theater insurance policies or standalone policies that provide the following types of coverage:
- Commercial umbrella insurance: This provides excess liability protection to any of several other policies you might have. If a customer injury leads to an expensive lawsuit that exceeds the limits of your CGL policy, your commercial umbrella kicks in with higher coverage limits.
- Workers’ compensation insurance: This is typically required for any business that has employees. It pays for lost income and medical expenses for employees who are injured on the job. If a ticket taker, concessions worker, or any other type of employee is injured on the job, workers’ compensation insurance pays for related medical costs and compensates them for time away from work.
- Liquor liability coverage: This is necessary if you sell alcoholic beverages at your movie theater. It protects you in instances of bodily injury and property damage that result from selling or serving alcohol.
- Crime coverage: protects your business if an employee or a group of employees engage in theft, forgery, or fraud that damages your business.
- Food contamination and spoilage coverage: This is important if you operate a concessions area that serves food.
- Equipment breakdown coverage: This pays for costs associated with sudden and accidental breakdown of machinery and equipment, such as movie projectors. It covers the costs to repair or replace the equipment and any other property that is damaged by the broken equipment. It also reimburses you for related business interruption costs.
- Sign coverage: This pays for damage to outdoor signs that are not attached to your building that is caused by vandalism, theft, weather, or accidents.
- Utility interruption coverage: This provides income protection if you are unable to operate due to a covered utility (water, electrical) interruption.
How Much Does Movie Theater Insurance Cost?
The cost of movie theater insurance depends on several factors, including the size of your business and the types of policies you need to cover your unique risks.
With so many variables (e.g., number of employees, number of screens, types of food and beverages served, location and size of your building, etc.) your costs may vary significantly from other theater owners.
Find and Compare Quotes
An independent agent can work with you one-on-one to determine the types and amounts of coverage you need. Your agent can get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can evaluate the cost and coverage options and make the best choice.
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Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
Benefits of an Independent Agent
Our agents simplify the search process for finding the right movie theater insurance. They’ll walk you through some handpicked policy options and explain the details and options.
Most importantly, they’ll be there for you when claim time comes. They know the ins and outs of the process and will make sure your claim is handled appropriately.
The Lowdown on Online Quotes
Online quotes can be tempting. They are fast and easy to get—but are they accurate? And are you getting quotes for the right coverage? For business owners, choosing speed over accuracy can cost you.
Online quotes can’t and don’t see the whole picture. They can leave out important coverage that will leave you devastated if something unexpected happens. And they can leave out cost-saving opportunities that an agent can help you take advantage of.
Instead of getting an online quote, find an independent agent now, and get one-on-one consultation and affordable options for the best coverage for your unique needs.